Is Freedom an illusion?
As our Independence day is approaching, let's reflect upon what freedom means to each one of us, what is its purpose for us.
Is freedom an illusion?
Is freedom actually free?
Is freedom a relative term?
Can we be free from our conditioning?
Can we be free from our fears?
These are some of the questions to ponder.
Can we be free from our fears? Everybody has their own definition and perspective of freedom. To me, freedom lies in being, thinking, feeling, behaviour, acting as well as communication. So freedom is not only being free, but feeling free to do, to say, to be whatsoever and however, wherever and whenever. Where there are no restrictions, no burdens and no inhibitions and you just feel free to pursue your passions and live the life you truly love.
Freedom is the right to make decisions without being influenced externally. Freedom means to express your opinion and fight for what you believe in, as long as you do not bring harm to others with a different point of view. Freedom is the right to express your feelings freely without thinking what others will think. Freedom is to be able to explore your own spiritual path, not sticking to any religion but having respect for every religion.
We sometimes take our freedom for granted and don’t focus on the little things that we get to enjoy because we are free.
Freedom is important
Freedom is a very important thing to have in your life. Our lives would be not worth living without freedom. It would seem as if we have been imprisoned. If we have to depend on others what to become, what to do, or what to believe and so on, our life would be hell.
Some Prerequisites of freedom
Wisdom – Freedom without wisdom has no meaning and can also be misused.
Discipline - Freedom without self-discipline can lead to self-destruction
Responsibility – Freedom without responsibility can lead to a victim attitude when you have no power to change, control or influence.
Ecological – Freedom means choosing what the best is for you while ensuring the choice is ecological for those around you!
Freedom has its own limitations
I think freedom is most of the time circumstantial and can never be generalized. You will never have absolute freedom in everything. Freedom does not mean you can do whatever you want when you want. It means to do the right thing at the right time with the right people when your conscience allows to do so.
No one has complete freedom. Freedom is a relative term. Absolute freedom requires absolute isolation, which makes it impossible. And absolute freedom cannot be achieved because when you take away limitations, you take away freedom. So you have to be unfree to feel free.
To feel freedom you have to go from a state of less freedom to a state of more freedom. The feeling of freedom is the feeling of this movement. Freedom is the capacity to choose good over evil. Our freedom is limited only to doing what is good and avoiding what is evil.
Freedom from conditioning
We are conditioned to believe certain things, think, behave and communicate and act in a certain manner. Some of the programming has been done unconsciously and some of it has been thrust upon us. Freedom means to be able to discard those patterns in our thinking and behaviour that no longer serve us.
Freedom from past
Freedom is when you don’t live in the past, learn from your mistakes, take the learnings and move forward in life. By choosing to deal with the past rationally and patiently, it is always possible to bring light to dispel the darkness.
Freedom from approval
We waste so much energy worrying about the opinions of others, wanting to be liked or admired. Experiencing freedom is about moving from social approval to self-approval. The less you worry about what people think of you , the less complicated your life becomes. As long as you are living by your values, being authentic, competing with your very best and chasing your dreams, don’t bother about what others think or feel or say about you.
Freedom from addiction
The mind works on pain-pleasure principle. You can utilize this principle instead of being driven by it. You can choose to what you associate pleasure and pain to. Too much pleasure without logic leads to addiction.
And last but not the least - Freedom of choice
We always have a freedom of choice and we have free will to create the right karma for ourselves. We can choose to appreciate what we have. We can choose to make time for ourself. We can choose to do something that makes us happy. We can choose courage over fear. We can choose to spend time with positive people. We can choose to persevere with our goals.
When we become aware of the choices we make each moment, we feel free to choose thoughts and actions that will benefit us and not harm us or hurt us. Within our choices, lie all the tools and resources we need to design the life of your dreams.
